This football star’s scholarship offers continue to roll in. The latest comes from a national power

Big-time offers continue for Braden River High’s Knowledge McDaniel.

Following a junior season that garnered the Bradenton Herald’s offensive player of the year award and a place on the FloridaHSFootball.com’s Class 7A first-team offense, the wide receiver is receiving more interest from major college football programs.

The latest: Ohio State University.

Urban Meyer, who knows the Sunshine State well from his previous tenure at the University of Florida, extended a scholarship offer last week to McDaniel, one of this week’s Hometown Heroes.

The offer from the Buckeyes was the 13th Power Five offer for McDaniel, who is a three-star recruit according to Rivals.

Nebraska also offered McDaniel recently. The Cornhuskers have inroads into Florida’s recruiting grounds through new head coach Scott Frost, who led UCF to an unbeaten season in 2017.

Nebraska has a history of wooing Manatee County prospects to Lincoln.

Manatee High alums Tommie Frazier, Shevin Wiggins and Tyrone Williams won national titles with Nebraska in the 1990s, while Bayshore High alumnus Fabian Washington starred at Nebraska in the early 2000s.

Those two Big Ten programs aren’t the only ones after McDaniel’s talents as he prepares for his senior season next fall.

Four SEC schools, including South Carolina and Missouri, have offered McDaniel. The Gamecocks secured running back Deshaun Fenwick and the Tigers locked down defensive back Tyrone Collins from Braden River during December’s early signing period. The two also early enrolled at their respective schools.

Duke, Boston College, Syracuse and Pittsburgh represent the four ACC schools that have offered McDaniel.

Iowa State, where former Manatee High stars Tarique Milton and Johnnie Lang are playing, is the lone Big 12 program that has offered McDaniel.

USF also has an offer extended to McDaniel, who isn’t the only Hometown Hero this week.

Here’s a look at some others:

State champions

Drive down Manatee Avenue West along the eastbound route and you’ll see the Shake Pit’s sign congratulating Brandon Dossey’s achievement over the weekend.

Dossey was one of two Manatee County high school wrestlers who won a state title at Kissimmee’s Silver Spurs Arena on Saturday.

Dossey exacted revenge on Miami South Dade’s Corey Harvey in the 182-pound championship match. Harvey eliminated Dossey, who was wrestling with a dislocated shoulder, from the 2017 state tournament.

Braden River High’s Brendan Bengtsson secured the first individual state wrestling championship in Pirates program history. He beat Harmony’s Carter Harris in the heavyweight division’s championship match of the Class 2A tournament.

It was the first time since 1989 that two Manatee County high schools produced a state champion wrestler in the same year. Bayshore and Southeast had wrestlers claim state gold that season.

It was also the first time since 2008 that more than one high school wrestler from the county won a state title. Manatee had two state champs that season.

Dossey and Bengtsson joined Bayshore swimmer Ryley Ober (100 freestyle, 200 free) and the Saint Stephen’s football team as the county’s state champs this school year among Florida High School Athletic Association sanctioned sports.

Courtney Mirabella

The former Braden River High star picked up the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) softball pitcher of the week honors on Feb. 26 for North Carolina Central University following two complete game victories over Howard University. Mirabella struck out 20 and allowed three hits in 12 innings. She transferred to North Carolina Central from N.C. State for her senior season.

Manatee Admirals

The Manatee Admirals won the Statewide Amateur Hockey of Florida state title for Tier II high school teams with a 6-1 victory over Miami Dade on Feb. 25 in Fort Myers.

This story was originally published March 5, 2018 at 2:43 PM with the headline "This football star’s scholarship offers continue to roll in. The latest comes from a national power."